


An unlikely heroine

by Brenross



Category: Chalet School - Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 10:26:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14913650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brenross/pseuds/Brenross
Summary: A shy new girl is the unwitting heroine in a crisis at the Chalet School





	1. Chapter 1

Miss Annersley was sitting in her office on a Thursday morning reviewing the notes for the talk she was giving the next week at the Berne Collegiate – she was speaking on the dangers of falling off precipices in the Alps – when she heard mumbling outside her door.

“Now, you have to knock, and wait until she says Come In, then you can open the door and go in.” came in a loud whisper that sounded like Elspeth Roberts from the third form.

A timid knock, and Miss Annersley predictably said "Come in..."

The door slowly creaked open, but it was not Elspeth, although hasty footsteps could be heard retreating down the hallway.

The child at the door was the mousy new girl, with glasses – from the Second Form, what was her name ... Edwina, no Wilhemina, no, no.... oh yes Geneviève , although everyone called her Jenny.

“Well, Jenny, what brings you here...?"

The little girl stood just inside the room, trembling, staring at the Head with terrified eyes. 

"Jenny, did someone tell you to come and see me?”

A nod, and then bravely, a strangled murmur...  
"Miss Coxham said I had to come and see you."

Ah, Miss Coxham, the new bumptious form mistress for the Fourth Form, who had been hired because of her no-nonsense approach to the young demons that inhabited the middle forms. Miss Annersley did not think she liked her very much at all but Miss Wilson had wanted to try her out, at least for a term. The prefects had complained so bitterly about the extra work the middles gave them last term she had insisted something must be done.

But this child was barely ten years old, and a very junior Junior. What business of Coxham was it to send her here?

"So Jenny, why don't you come a bit closer so I can hear you. That's good." The child moved a reluctant step closer.

"Jenny, why do you think Miss Coxham sent you here to me?

Silence, and then...  
"I think she wants you to beat me."

Miss Annersley blinked and stared at the little girl. She was obviously frightened, and sincere. 

"Jenny, I promise you that nobody here will ever beat you. But have you broken a rule, or been rude to a mistress, or done something very wrong?"

"I think I must have, but I don't know what exactly. But Miss Coxham was very angry. She yelled."

"All right, Jenny. Why don't you come and sit on this chair here beside me. Now think carefully. What happened that made Miss Coxham yell?"

"There was a picture on the blackboard."

"Did you draw the picture?"

"No Miss. But it wasn't a drawn picture, it was a picture that was taped."

"Did you tape the picture on the blackboard?"

"No Miss."

"Do you know who taped the picture on the blackboard?"

"No Miss. It was there when we came in."

Who is your form mistress?

"Miss Walters"

"What did Miss Walters say about the picture?"

"She wasn't there Miss. Adira fell running outside and hit her head during Break, and Miss Walters carried her to San."

"So the picture wasn't on the blackboard before Break then."

"No Miss."

"And then you all went out for Break, and when you came back in the picture was taped on the blackboard." 

"Yes Miss"

"And you have no idea how it got there?"

"No Miss"

Miss Annersley frowned inwardly. The little girl was clearly overawed, but although her answers were barely over a whisper, she spoke articulately and respectfully. She seemed guileless.

"Why do you think Miss Coxham yelled?"

"I think ... because the others were talking about the picture."

"Was it a funny picture?"

"I don't know – I don't think so." 

"Was Miss Coxham yelling at you?"

"Well, first I think she was yelling at everybody... and then she yelled just at me." 

"What did she say when she yelled?"

"Hmmm – What is going on in here? Where is your form mistress? WHAT IS THAT? Who put that there? Did you put that piece of filth up there, you little French brat, what do -"

 

"That's enough, dear. Did you say anything to Miss Coxham?"

 

"I think I tried to say no Miss or I don't know Miss. But my voice stopped working because I was so scared. And then she got angrier."

 

"I see. Why do you think Miss Coxham thought it was you that had taped the picture on the blackboard?"

The child sat silently. 

"Jenny, you are telling me that you didn't tape the picture on the blackboard, but that Miss Coxham thought you did. There must be a reason.”

The child muttered barely audibly.

“Some of the other girls said I did.”

"But you didn't."

"No Miss."

Miss Annersley sat back. This was puzzling indeed. She had had very little to do personally with this new pupil, but she had heard nothing untoward about her. All she knew was that she was a French child who spoke impeccable English, was shy and withdrawn, and seemed somewhat nervous. But her work was good, and her behaviour had not called her to any notice during the first month of term. It seemed unlikely that this frightened child would get up to such hooliganism without any warning. 

She got up and opened the door to her secretary's office.

"Miss Dene, could you find Miss Walters for me – she should be in the Second Form Room or she could be in San with Adira who seems to have had a bad fall. I need to see her now." 

"Right away, Miss Annersley."

But before Rosalie had even left her abode, a hurried knock sounded at the door. At Miss Annersley's prompting, Miss Walters stood in the open doorway, flushed and worried. 

"Oh Miss Annersley, Oh Jenny," as she spotted her little pupil, still trembling in the big chair...  
" – oh dear, there's been quite a kerfuffle... “


	2. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miss Annersley is aghast at going-ons in the school of which she was not aware.

Miss Annersley, surprised at the young mistress's discomfiture, hastily called to Rosalie to take Jenny for a moment to help her open correspondence. As the mail had been dispatched a good hour beforehand, Rosalie sighed, and took Jenny to the stationery cupboard to sort out the new notebooks. 

"What is this then, about a picture taped on the blackboard and Miss Coxham? Is Jenny causing problems in form?"

"Oh no, Miss Annersley – not at all, the poor child had nothing to do with it. I taped the picture on the blackboard at the beginning of break – it's the Charles Darwin evolution picture with the silhouettes showing homo sapiens at the end. I was introducing the concept of history and biology and science all fitting together. We just finished studying dinosaurs and the girls were asking questions about lizards and iguanas and then people as well, and it seemed a logical fit. But Adira stumbled and fell during Break and hit her head and there was such a bump on her forehead, and you know how the doctors are so careful of the girls' health here, and Adira is so fragile with her aunt at the Sanatorium and all, so I rushed her over to Matey, telling the girls to review their spelling until I got back. But Miss Coxham...." and then the young mistress ran out of steam, and no longer knew what to say.

"It's all right Miss Walters. You did the right thing to focus on Adira. The health and welfare of the girls always come first. So, when you got back to the form room, Miss Coxham was there, was she?

"Yes. She was tearing the evolution picture off the blackboard quite angrily, and shouting at the girls that they had no right to bring such filth into the school... but they had nothing to do with it, it was I. And it isn't filth, it's evolution and scientific inquiry." Miss Walters managed to sound both indignant and confused, albeit grammatical, at the same time. 

"But why would she send Jenny to me for a Head's report?”

"I don't know Miss Annersley. I wasn't there for that part. Jenny is very shy, and not at all the sort to act up. She's bright though, and a good worker. And she is charming, once you get through her defences."

Miss Annersley looked thoughtful, but inwardly she smiled. She liked Miss Walters, and liked her more now for her championing of her charges.

"I see. Well, who is the form prefect? – maybe she can shed some light on this kerfuffle..."

"Victoria Jones. She was quite distressed when she told me Jenny had been sent to you. She wanted to go with her to explain, but Miss Coxham told Elspeth who was passing by to take her."

"Very well. Let me check here, yes – Miss Ferrars has a free morning today – I heard her say she was going to catch up on some marking in the staff room. I'll just get her to sit with your form while we talk to Vicky and get to the bottom of this."

Miss Walters nodded, and set out to fetch Victoria.

It didn't take long before Miss Annersley had a good idea of what had happened in the second form room. Apparently Miss Coxham was passing by when she heard the ruckus of the little girls, unnerved by Adira's accident and surprised by the large poster taped high on the blackboard, as they speculated wildly on its meaning. The teacher had stepped in to check on the girls and seeing them unsupervised did not hesitate to take control, a laudable act. Victoria corroborated Jenny's account of Miss Coxham's outburst, which seemed to have been caused by her ideological dislike of evolution. But something was still unclear. 

"Vicky, why did Miss Coxham think Jenny was responsible for the picture? She couldn't have possibly been able to tape it up there, she's much too little to reach that high." asked Miss Walters.

Vicky who had been forthright throughout the discussion now hesitated. 

"I think someone said that Jenny had done it, and Miss Coxham believed her."

"Who said it, Vicky? We all know it was a lie, and Jenny could have been in serious trouble. This isn't snitching, you know dear, it sounds like some nasty bullying." Miss Annersley was firm.

Vicky took a deep breath. “It was Frances Corrigan. She doesn't like Jenny because Jenny is way higher up in form, even if she is new. She makes fun of her for being shy, and wearing glasses. She knows Miss Coxham doesn't like French people, so she said it had to be Jenny, the French girl."

Miss Annersley was shocked. “Miss Coxham doesn't like French people?" she repeated in disbelief. What a thing for a mistress to have the pupils think about her! And so many of the staff and pupils here were French, and dear Mademoiselle Lepattre...

She turned to Miss Walters in dismay and saw the young mistress would not meet her gaze. Well, this was not a conversation to have in front of Vicky, who was thanked for her honesty and dismissed with a smile and a promise of an afternoon picnic for the form to distract the children from the morning's events. 

"I think, Miss Walters, we must discuss the kind of influence Miss Coxham is having on the girls. She appears to be very set in her ways, with strong personal opinions that even junior girls know how to take advantage of. It seems a recipe for disaster. We must bring Miss Wilson into this discussion. I will ask Rosalie to keep Jenny with her for the time being. ” 

Miss Annersley spoke in calm reflective tones, and only the fact that she had ended a sentence with a preposition revealed her inner turmoil.


	3. Outcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The problem is solved.

A conclave of the senior mistresses including young Miss Walters met for a good hour. To her dismay, Miss Annersley learned there was much more than met the eye about Miss Coxham. 

Apparently, Miss Coxham not only disapproved of evolution, but also of astronomy which she equated with astrology, penicillin and musical instruction. And while she did not like the French, whom she called winos, she also detested Belsornians, Alaskans and the ambidextrous. Some of the more astute middles had picked up on Miss Coxham"s particularities, and through some artful flattery and base manipulation had been able to get their music lessons and scheduled practices cancelled without having to replace them with other approved school activities. In fact Henrietta Corrigan (Frances' older sister) had so endeared herself to Miss Coxham by mirroring her ideologies she had been made form prefect in place of Marie-Laure Laviolette and no longer had to practice the violin. 

Marie-Laure had not truly minded losing her prefectship, as she had not enjoyed the contempt Miss Coxham had lavished upon her because she was French, but she deeply resented Henrietta"s manipulation and blatant toadyism. Her coterie of friends supported her ferociously, and the form was split between two uneven camps – Henrietta and the sycophants on one side, and Marie-Laure and the old order on the much larger other side. Unfortunately, the whole form was infected with a cynicism that was leaking into their behaviour with the school at large.

"But why are we only hearing of this now? This is untenable." exclaimed Miss Annersley glancing at Miss Wilson who sat silent and pale at her side. Mlle Lachenais intervened hastily. “Ah, mais ma chère, it is only one month we have been with this Miss Coxham and we are seeing the whole picture only now that we are talking together. You have been occupied with your talks on precipice falls, it is an examination term, and we have quite a coaching schedule. We have all been very occupied, too occupied to share with each other. And I believe Miss Wilson is feeling poorly."

Miss Annersley exclaimed "Nell, is this true?" She knew the answer as soon as she spoke. Miss Wilson was faintly yellowish, with dark smudges under her eyes and she appeared uncharacteristically listless.

"Oh Miss Wilson, is it toothache?" erupted Miss Wilmot, as toothaches were a rampant affliction in the school. "I shall fetch Matey" she shouted as she bounded out of the room.

"Oh dear" whispered Miss Wilson. "This is all my fault, I have let you all down by bringing this Miss Coxham here to wreak havoc among us."

"Nonsense, Nell! You are not to blame as you are ill. We have all been too distracted by other things. We can and we will put this right. But first of all, you are going to get better. I am calling Jack right now for you to have a full check-up at the Sanatorium.

Within a day, Miss Wilson was installed at the Sanatorium, diagnosed with viral hepatitis she apparently had picked up on a recent holiday abroad. Miss Coxham was interviewed and dismissed summarily. The Corrigan sisters individually had extremely unpleasant conversations with the Head, from which they each emerged weeping with lost privileges and the threat of expulsion hovering over them if they did not reform. 

Jenny was released from clerical servitude with Miss Dene after a warm encouraging talk with Miss Annersley, and returned to a heroine's welcome in the school, much to her surprise. Vicky had told the second form that Jenny was responsible for their delightful picnic that replaced a much-despised needle-work and mending session. The fourth form where Marie-Laure was presiding as prefect again lauded her as the cause of Miss Coxham's demise and Henrietta's downfall and made quite a pet of her, lending her books and pencils and using her as a walking French dictionary on French days. 

Miss Annersley remarked on Jenny's personality during one of her daily visits to Miss Wilson at the Sanatorium, where her doctors predicted a full recovery by next term. 

"She is still a very quiet child, reserved I think would be the word, but she appears less nervous, and yesterday I heard her laughing with Adira. All the attention she is getting from the Fourth leaves her a bit puzzled, but she is taking it in stride. She seems remarkably mature in some ways."

"You know," mused Miss Wilson. "I wonder what her home life is like. That kind of fear and nervousness - given she is a bright girl with a pleasant disposition – seems strangely out of place."

"She did accept without question that Miss Coxham was right in blaming her over that ridiculous picture kerfuffle. It may be she has been regularly scapegoated before." 

Miss Annersley was sombre. It was inappropriate for her to make any judgment on parents without knowing the full family dynamics. Nevertheless, she was starting to think that while all children need consistent discipline and reasonable rules, some could use much more kindness in their lives. 

As sombreness is not warranted in a sick room, she changed the subject and started recounting the changes she had made in Miss Wilson"s absence.

"I hired four new proctors that Mlle Lachenais suggested we engage among the locals – they are all fluent in at least two of our languages, graduated from a good school, and have the temperament and character that fit with our values. They are helping with the more basic supervisory duties, especially with the juniors and middles prep and outside activities. It is taking pressure off the prefects and the junior mistresses who can concentrate more on their own work and on the girls. Miss Walters is providing a good level of oversight to make sure we don't have any Miss Coxhams creeping into our midst again. And I have given up my lecture series on precipice falls."

Miss Wilson laughed. She was truly feeling better, and the old glint was back in her eyes. 

Yes, I think your expertise in turning out the best kind of Chalet School girl is much more valuable, my dear Hilda."

**Author's Note:**

> to be determined


End file.
